Oh dear, you had to mention the Brother PC 420... don't get me started, please :o) I just measured mine and it IS 7.5 inches from the needle to the right inside part of the harp area... and 4.5 inches tall. Below is a picture of my Brother side by side with my Bernina so that you can see the size difference of the harps (I call it the arm pit LOL)... can you see how much more open the Brother is? The Brother PC 420 is the one on the right... Anyway, I've had this machine since 2009... I got it as a 26th birthday present to myself and I've loved it since day one... And I paid 500 dollars on Amazon for mine, the price has gone down 100 dollars. It's one of the few machines in the price range that gives you knee lifter, automatic thread slicer, and adjustable presser foot pressure. It comes with a walking foot, zipper foot, button attaching foot, one step button hole foot, teflon foot, patchwork foot, zig zag foot, open toe foot, free motion foot... it has drop feed and a perfect needle threader that works with one finger, the first time, every time. The bobbin thread doesn't have to be drawn up to start sewing, it has stop start, needle up down, sliding speed control that can also be set to be the stitch width control... It never gets a bird's nest or has messed up tension at all... truly a remarkable machine for the money! The only things I had to buy for it were a quilting guide bar for the walking foot (but it came with the walking foot), and a quarter inch foot with a guide, and extra bobbins. I tried to quilt something just the other day on my Bernina and I had to revert back to the Brother because it had a bigger harp, so that is definitely something to consider... not only the width, but also the height makes such a difference... the height of the Bernina is a full half inch smaller than the Brother and it may not sound like much, but in practice, it makes a pretty big difference. There's even attention to detail on this machine... there's a ridge on the top of the hand wheel so you can always tell when the needle is in the highest position just by looking at or feeling that ridge. There's also a clear coating on all the buttons on the right side so the graphic doesn't wear off over time. I lent it to someone at a retreat a few weeks ago and 3 people commented on how smooth and quiet it ran.. they couldn't believe Brother made such a lovely machine and these were people who had Vikings and Janomes! OK, I think I'm done with my plug... I just wanted to extol the virtues of this wonderful and underrated machine since I've had and loved mine for so many years. You can get all the same features in other brands, but you'll pay a lot more for them, and there's nothing wrong with this machine! The only thing I don't like is that the needle defaults to the left position, so if you're using a quarter inch foot with a single hole, the needle must be centered first... I've broken more than I care to admit by forgetting that step. Good luck with whatever you decide (let us know!)... If you have any specific questions about the PC 420, let me know.

I have one of these machines: Model 1400; I wouldn never get rid of it. Got it as a gift in 1972, and I have made tons of things using this gem of a machine and attachments. I have a problem now, though. The zig-zag just stopped working. I cleaned the machine and will oil it next. There are no clunks or weird sounds or reactions -- the straight stitch works fine. But when I switch it to zig-zag (or any other settings on that control knob), it just does straight stitch. In a mending project, it worked fine for one item; then just stopped when I tried to do another item. If I move it to adjust the width of the zag, it still just does a straight stitch wherever I move it. Also, another problem that suddenly appeared: loosening the clutch on the wheel does not stop the needle mechanism from going up and down when I want to wind the bobbin. I haven't had it serviced in several years--I rarely use it now--mostly for mending and occasional projects.Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks!

I don't know where I get my information that I seem to have in my head about Coronado, several sources really. Some of it comes from someone who did a video report pre-internet that I have seen, There does seem to be a dearth of information about Coronado. So I think this might be a good place to put out what I think I know, and maybe some one who does the research can correct it. Coronado was a little ambitious company that wanted to be a part of the modern industrialization of the 1800s, in a large part led by Singer, but they did not set out to be a Singer cloning company; They were into metal work. They had a small plant (picture a brick warehouse with a small foundry and a work yard). They were from the start looking for a good product that would make them good money. It didn't go very well; they did piece work, but their main stay, low profit products were toys. They were looking for a solid product line when the sewing machine opportunity arrived, which they enthusiastically dived into. They got rid of all their non sewing machine making tooling and they made their first sewing machines in house. At that time they decided that they needed a "brand name". The owner was aware of the conquistador Coronado, and he was infatuated with the Southwest though he had never been there, but mainly he like the way it sounded: "It's a Coronado". Many people do not realize the high drama around sewing machines. Sewing machines led the industrial revolution, especially about machines and factories. Singer might be said to be the first multi-notional :-), and of course while their patents were in force, they had a monopoly. When the patent monopoly ended, a number of firms jumped in the sewing machine manufacturing game, little guys. So then, National Sewing Machine sets out to consolidate American, non-Singer sewing machine manufacturing. Singer's scale and internationalism as well as National Sewing Machine's name made it plausibly a patriotic business operation, but I think it was simple anti-competitive market consolidation. So after WWII National Sewing Machine's function is taken over by Brother, and National Sewing Machine goes out of business. I would not be surprised if National Sewing Machine and Brother had major stockholders in common at that time. So Coronado was all in on being a sewing machine manufacturer, but was not really set up for such mass production, and were approached by National Sewing Machine to have National Sewing Machine make their machines. They didn't really want National Sewing Machine to make their sewing machines, but could see that they would never be able to compete and stay afloat, so they made the deal to badge their machines. This was in the 1800s. All the other cloning companies were bought up or went out of business. Coronado survived, but turned basically into a sales company, but they had a solid contract so they could compete as an indy label. They did make another short lived attempt at doing something on the engineering side. I think the 2 step button holing sewing machine might be the only thing to come out of it. I'm not sure. The only one I have seen anything on is the one I posted about at: https://www.reddit.com/r/SewingMachinePorn/comments/1ahdwvu/missing_from_the_internet_coronado_451409_sm51409a/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3 This is an improved rewrite of a post I made there. This is also the machine where I first made note of Coronado, back in the late 1960s or early 1970s. I was a kid. Is this a two step button holer unicorn? If anyone knows of another, let me know .. or where a manual to this machine, a #45-1409, S.M,5-1409A can be found . Some investigative reporter wanted to know what happened to Coronado when the department stores closed and the Coronado machines disappeared from the market. He tracked the company down to a one room office in some low rent office building. He finally got a hold of the man running the place, who was seemingly well into retirement. At some point the owner just made a contract with minor department store companies to do the selling and to furnish them with machines made by his suppliers, and he put the business on auto-pilot.

You should be able to use a twin needle in almost any sewing machine. Here's a video link with more information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xErVBi4q-w4 Happy Sewing!